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Annual DTV Ancillary/Supplementary Services Report for Commercial and Noncommercial Television Stations Due December 1, 2017

November 20, 2017

New this year—only those commercial and noncommercial full power television stations, digital Class A, digital low power and digital translator television stations that have received revenue from providing ancillary or supplementary services must file the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Form 2100 Schedule G (formerly known as Form 317) electronically by December 1, 2017.

Previously, all stations, whether or not they offered ancillary or supplementary services or received revenue from the provision of such services were required to submit this filing. The Commission is now actively considering whether to amend its rules to require that the filing be made only by stations that provided feeable ancillary or supplementary services. Accordingly, while the agency considers such a rule change, it is temporarily relieving stations with no feeable services from the December 1 filing requirement.

For those stations that generated revenue from the provision of ancillary or supplementary services during the 12-month period ending September 30, 2017, a Form 2100 Schedule G must be submitted electronically using the Licensing and Management System (LMS). Instructions for use of LMS can be found here. These stations must then submit a payment to the FCC in the amount of 5% of the gross revenue collected, along with a remittance form (Form 159).

Ancillary or supplementary services generally are defined as any services provided on the station's digital spectrum other than free, over-the-air video broadcasts. For example, a video program stream broadcast on a multicast channel at no direct charge to viewers is not considered to be an ancillary or supplementary service; by contrast, if viewers must pay a subscription fee to receive the program stream, it is an ancillary and supplementary service. Other examples of ancillary or supplementary services include, but are not limited to, computer software distribution, data transmissions, aural messages, paging services and audio signals.

If you have any questions or need assistance in filing the Form 2100 Schedule G, please contact either of the attorneys listed on this alert or the Wiley Rein attorney who handles your station matters.

SIGNAL Group (formerly McBee Strategic Consulting, LLC) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wiley Rein. SIGNAL is a total solutions provider—advocacy, strategic communications, research, and digital media—for clients seeking to engage the federal government to achieve competitive advantage, influence public policy, establish new markets, and secure public capital.